From EPOCA blog posted 30 May 2011 Natural carbon dioxide (CO2) seeps in Papua New Guinea have given scientists rare insights into what tropical coral reefs could look like if human-induced atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise unabated. At present rates of increase, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
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Ocean acidification leaves clownfish deaf to predators
From EPOCA blog posted 30 May, 2011 Baby clownfish use hearing to detect and avoid predator-rich coral reefs during the daytime, but new research from the University of Bristol demonstrates that ocean acidification could threaten this crucial behaviour within the next few decades. Since the Industrial Revolution, over half of all
Coming to a shore near you?
Acidified water has shown up sooner than we thought. Five years ago, many scientists probably thought they’d never see large pools of corrosive water near the ocean’s surface in their lifetimes. Basic chemistry told them that as the oceans absorbed more carbon dioxide pollution from cars and smokestacks and industrial processes,
Mitigating Local Causes of Ocean Acidification with Existing Laws
Stanford Report, May 26, 2011 — Experts create first legal roadmap to tackle ocean acidification ‘hotspots’ Download this Policy Forum paper as a pdf. Ocean acidification, a problem usually associated with global greenhouse gas emissions, is also caused by coastal pollution and other local sources that can be managed
The acid test
Posted on the EPOCA blog: 25 May 2011 — Why ocean acidification matters to you. Every day, the oceans do us a huge favor. Across the planet, they absorb nearly one million metric tons of carbon dioxide each hour, removing about a third of the greenhouse gases from the atmosphere that would otherwise